11/11/2014

FROM RISE TO DAWN: An Interview With Director Rupert Wyatt

While promoting his new film The Gambler, director Rupert Wyatt also addressed the original intention he had for what would have been his follow-up to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He also shared his feelings about Matt Reeves' take on that sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

"For me, the majority of revolutions, probably the American Revolution aside, 9 times out of 10 result in civil war," he said. "A revolution happens and then it fragments, and you have a civil war. So we always set out on that path with Caesar and Koba becoming in a way the Martin Luther King Jr. and the Malcolm X of the revolution and the clash as the result of that. I think the fundamental thing I wanted to do, which I think the franchise will probably do—and I haven’t talked specifically to Matt or Mark Bomback, the writer, of where they’re going with this—but I would imagine the thing that they’re going to go to was the thing I was hoping to do with the sequel, which is go into the cities. Evolve technically, sort of figure out the combustion engine, so in a way interact with our society. And for me, I found that fascinating, and I guess what Matt wanted to do—and obviously it was his first Apes film—was play out more the interim aspect of it. Keep them in the forest for longer and stuff, so that was the fundamental difference between our takes on it.

I thought it was beautifully directed; an incredibly well-made film," he added regarding Dawn. "It’s hard, you know, because I very much wanted to do the sequel. I was very passionate about doing the sequel and other films. I love that franchise and I’m thrilled in a way for Matt and what he achieved with that because he achieved something I probably couldn’t have because he did something different. He’s his own filmmaker, I’m a different filmmaker, so it’s great he’s had success with that film and the fact that the franchise lives, that’s what we’re all hoping for. So for that, I was thrilled when I was watching it. I just had a very different take, and very different idea of what the movie was going to be, so it’s always going to be colored by that."